Family Is More Than Blood
by Rangergirl3
Summary: Keith lures an enemy away from a vulnerable target. When his team finds him, they try to help - but he's been badly injured. Galra!Keith and lots of Space Family. Also...don't ever hurt one of the Paladins. It makes Space Dad angry. Fourteenth of the 'Lost Paladins' series. Can also be read on its own. Two short chapters have just been added after the Epilogue. (Bonus Scenes) :-)
1. Author's Note - Story Order

Greetings, reader! Thank you for clicking on this story! :D

This story is part of a series, but it can be read on its own.

If you're new to these stories, or if you're wondering what order they go in, here's the order of my 'Lost Paladins' series:

1) Lost Paladins

2) Fever Dreams

3) Team Building Exercises

4) Pidge one-shot

5) Red Means Blood

6) Chocolate Chip Cookies

7) Quality Time (references my fic 'You Can't Take the Sky From Me')

8) Broken Barriers

9) On the Edge

10) Scavenger Hunt

11) Broken Paladins

12) Cabin Fever

and the newest two that I have just posted:

13) Adventures in Babysitting

14) Family Is More Than Blood

Yup...you can tell I really love the Voltron: Legendary Defender show, huh? :D

But please, feel free to read this story on its own merit if you like - I love it when people read and review my stories! :D :D

The stories in this series do build on each other, so it may make a bit more sense if you read the stories in the order listed above. I would hate for you to feel lost or confused. :-)

There should be some more stories coming - I never thought I'd write this many, but all of the encouragement and support from you wonderful readers led to _everything_ after 'Lost Paladins'. :D :D Your reviews and encouragement are the life-blood that help me continue to write this series. Thank you!

As always, reviews help me know what people enjoyed/thought was interesting - your feedback helps this writer stay encouraged and get more ideas! It really makes my day to read what people thought/enjoyed - and feel free to PM me if you like! :D :D

Happy Reading!


	2. Prologue (Red Shirt Syndrome)

Keith hated it when Lance was right.

He was _totally_ a red shirt.

He was running, at a full sprint, through abandoned tunnels his enemy knew way, _way_ better than he did, and he had no way to contact his team.

 _Shit shit shit damn damn damn -_

There were four men after him, all of them pissed as hell, and Jenick - damn him - had paralytic darts. So, really, once Jenick found Keith, it was going to be all over within five seconds.

Keith would fight, of course, he'd fight as long as he could, but he was already starting to feel tired.

His right side and leg ached from the old injuries he'd taken a while back, and as much as he hated to admit it, it was slowing him down. The blow he'd taken to the back of the head just a few minutes ago also wasn't helping matters.

But at least Beyris was hidden.

Keith knew that Rayzor was going to find her - Rayzor would tear apart every wall in his way to find his niece and get her to safety - but Keith had made sure to remember which tunnel she was hiding in, just in case - in case the tracking unit in the comms shorted out before her uncle got to her.

If Keith was somehow able to take down Jenick and his three friends, he'd head back to Beyris and make sure he got her to the infirmary, where the others could help defend her - and where he could pass out for a few hours. Or days. Whatever.

Suddenly, there were shouts behind him, and Keith knew he'd finally been spotted.

Keith had hoped to lead Jenick further away from Beyris' hiding place before he was surrounded and taken, but he'd managed to get at least six turns away from where Beyris hid in the ventilation tunnel...so she probably wouldn't be able to hear whatever happened next.

 _That's right, Keith._ He told himself sardonically. _Think positive._

He ran another dozen yards before he decided he could at least put his back against a wall and fight. There were only four guys, after all, maybe he'd get lucky and take them all out.

He managed to hold off the first few attacks before he felt a cold, numbing, biting sensation on the skin directly underneath his right ear, and he realized one of Jenick's darts had just hit him in the neck.

" _Dammit_ -" he said, just before the paralytic took effect. Keith felt all his muscles lock into place as he fell backwards against the wall, and then he'd half-fallen, half-slid into a sitting position against the wall of the corridor, one leg stretched out in front of him, his right hand still holding his bayard at his side, his arms and legs already almost completely useless.

The three men moved aside then, and Jenick came to stand in front of Keith, looking down at him with a very, very nasty smile on his face. It was harsh and cold and utterly contemptuous.

Keith snarled up at him, but Jenick ignored the sound and leaned over, a syringe in one hand. Keith tried to lift his bayard and defend himself, but his movements were sluggish and weak, and Jenick caught Keith's wrist with his other hand easily. With a swift motion, Jenick inserted the needle into Keith's neck.

Keith tried again to break away from Jenick, but the man had already tossed the empty syringe to the side and gripped hold of Keith's hair, forcing the Red Paladin to look at him.

For an instant, their eyes locked into a stare, and Keith saw that Jenick's smile had gone wider, as if he were a snake that had just swallowed a bird.

 _Great imagery,_ Keith told himself _. Really encouraging_.

Even as Keith saw the smile on Jenick's face widen, he felt the man's fingers tighten on his wrist, twisting and bending his hand back slowly, relentlessly, until the Red Paladin bared his teeth, half-closed his eyes, and cried out in pain as his bayard clattered to the floor.

Hissing through his teeth, forcing his eyes open again, Keith saw that Jenick still smiled the same cold smile, a thing of teeth and vicious satisfaction.

"Got you _,"_ Jenick said. His voice was low and smug, and all Keith could manage was an epithet he was glad neither Pidge nor Beyris could hear.

For that, Jenick punched him hard in the stomach. Keith tried to curl away from the blow, to protect his vital organs, but the paralytic dart had done its work well. He'd lost the ability to move.

"Tell me where the girl is," Jenick said.

"Sc-screw off," Keith told him, once he'd gotten enough breath back to speak. Jenick smiled at him again and shifted his weight so that his booted foot stepped onto Keith's right hand. Then Jenick ground his heel down in a harsh, sharp, twisting motion.

Keith heard himself scream as his hand was broken. He tried to get away from the pain, to bring his hand to his chest and protect it from further injury, but it was as if his muscles had turned to stone.

He could feel everything, but he couldn't move. He couldn't move _at all,_ and Jenick's companions looked on as if they were watching some kind of sick bear baiting game - and Keith was the bear.

 _This was going to suck._

"Tell me where the girl is," Jenick said again.

Keith felt pain, and tension, and fear wash through him, and he wanted to fight back, but he couldn't. Despite himself, Keith wished Rayzor or the other Paladins could find him and take out all four of these jackasses before they hurt him again.

But that was unlikely, since Keith didn't have a comms unit. He'd left it with Beyris.

"You should know," Jenick said, his voice calm and almost vaguely amused, "that I injected you with a special type of compound just now. It counteracts our healing methods, and I would even hazard a guess that it would prevent the Alteans from treating your injuries effectively."

Keith felt himself let out a harsh, scared breath as he realized what that meant. There was absolute silence in the abandoned tunnels, and shadows stretched out as far as he could see.

 _Healing pods wouldn't be able to fix his injuries. He could - he might -_

"Of course, the effects are limited," Jenick went on, still smiling that eerie smile, "but even so - it does prevent the use of medical treatment - including pain medication - for twenty-four hours. So - even if you _do_ survive the initial stages of this inquiry - I really don't envy your situation. Believe me when I say that you should seriously consider answering my question immediately."

Keith tried not to show how sick he felt, how scared, how helpless. He thought of Beyris, trusting him not to break, trusting him not to tell Jenick or his cronies where she hid, trusting her uncle to come and find her -

 _Stars, he wished he could call to Red down here -_

"Now. Where's the girl?" Jenick asked, his voice even, calm, and still faintly amused. It was clear he was going to enjoy this.

Keith ground his teeth together before answering.

"-S-safe-" he said. Then Jenick broke his right arm, and Keith screamed. The sound echoed off the tunnel walls.

At least Beyris was far away from here. She couldn't see this. She couldn't hear this. She was safe.

 _No,_ Keith told himself, swallowing back another scream of pain as Jenick let Keith's broken arm fall back to his side. _No, that's not true._

She was safe only as long as he didn't tell this jackass where she was.

" _Tell_ me _where_ she _is_ ," Jenick said again. His voice had gone harder, and it conveyed his mounting annoyance at the delay to his plans.

Keith snarled back at Jenick then, but his voice broke off sharply out of pain and fear as Jenick grabbed hold of Keith's left arm, bringing it up and into an arm lock, the same way he had done to Keith's right arm just before he broke it.

As Jenick started to put pressure on Keith's elbow and wrist, Keith wished he could manage some sort of insult, but it was all he could do not to throw up, because the pain was already so bad and he was so scared. He really, _really_ hoped Beyris couldn't hear what was going on, because he just _knew_ he was going to scream again -

" _Tell me where she is_ ," Jenick said, and his voice was colder now. Keith tried not to let his voice shake when he answered.

"Sc-screw - y-you," he said, and he did scream again as his left arm snapped like a twig. Even as Keith screamed, Jenick let the broken arm fall back to the ground.

Everything was fading in and out of focus, but Keith made himself concentrate on breathing in and out, in and out - _god_ , it felt like he was never, _ever_ going to be able to use his arms again -

"Impressive," Jenick said, and Keith felt a boot kick him hard in the side, knocking him down to the ground, and then he felt another one of the men kick him, then another, and another, and then Jenick spoke again, and Keith realized Jenick was still asking him where Beyris was hiding.

 _Bastard. I'm not going to tell you that._

That was what Keith wanted to say.

But the pain was everywhere, and it was all Keith could do _not_ to say anything, because anything he said might put Beyris in danger.

"North?"

Kick.

"South?"

Kick.

"East?"

Kick.

"West?"

Kick.

 _None of the above, jackass,_ Keith thought, but he all he really wanted to do was find a way to pass out, because he hurt all over, and the pain was only growing worse.

Somewhere in a distant corner of his mind, Keith wondered if the drug Jenick had injected into his neck could prevent him from falling into unconsciousness.

Given how Jenick obviously expected Keith to answer his question soon...that was entirely likely.

 _Fantastic_... _I can't even pass out._

Then one of the hardest kicks hit Keith in the head, and Keith felt a special kind of pain cloud his senses - a hazy, awful, sickening sensation that echoed around his skull, and his mind just - stopped working for awhile.

Dimly, Keith felt motion and noise around him, but he didn't really know what was going on around him. All he knew for certain was that that his head felt like it was splitting apart, and every single inch of him hurt as it had never hurt before.

Then someone was telling him to wake up, but Keith didn't want to open his eyes, he didn't want to see Jenick smiling down at him again -

 _God, stars, and comets, everything hurt…the pain in his head was horrible…and…why was he so cold…_

The cold - it was familiar- it was biting at him, biting like knives and teeth, and -

 _Oh, shit._

This was the Cave of Ice.

They'd taken him back to the Cave of Ice.

 _These guys were complete jackasses for bringing him back here._

But it did mean one good thing.

It meant they hadn't found Beyris yet.


	3. Just Like Old Times

Keith heard himself groan as someone nudged his side with a boot. He tried to flinch away from the touch, but all he could manage was to slit his eyes open, and what he saw was not encouraging.

Jenick and the three other men looked back down at him, faces harsh and cold and terribly, terribly alien. None of their red eyes had any semblance of mercy or regret in their expressions.

Keith realized he must be lying on the cold stone that covered the ice cave's floor, and he wished then he still had his jacket with him - his t-shirt and jeans didn't do a thing against the chill. But what Keith wished for most in that instant was for the pain to stop.

His entire body ached, and he was pretty sure most of his ribs were broken now. His arms felt as if fire and knives had taken the place of bone and sinew, and the cold was biting into his skin, into his blood and muscles and tendons. He could barely see the frozen puffs of breath that left his lips.

It was depressing, really, how this all felt _so_ familiar.

 _Stars_ , _everything_ _hurt_.

"You really are a stubborn one," Jenick said. Keith looked up to see that Jenick had moved so that he was standing directly in front of him again, looking down into Keith's face, his red eyes flat and burning with annoyance.

"-y-you-j-j-just-n-not-ticed…?" Keith managed, wishing he could manage a better comeback, but he felt sick, and tired, and scared. He really, _really_ hoped Rayzor had found Beyris and gotten her somewhere safe by now, because he wasn't sure how much longer he could -

Then Keith saw Jenick unclip a familiar device from his belt, and Keith felt a sudden terror pound through his already aching head. It was one of the sonic weapons that had caused him such pain before - before - before the alliance.

 _Shit_.

With a cruel smile, Jenick took out the sonic device and pointed it at Keith's head.

"You _really_ should tell us where she is," the man said. "Remember, you can't rely on the healing cryo-pods to help you this time."

Keith growled up at him then, pain and terror making his voice nothing more than a wordless snarl, feeling hopeless, and angry, and small, but then -

The sound shattered through Keith's ears, and he screamed, arching his back as he tried to retreat from the sound, to get away from it, to do _something_ to keep it from drilling into his skull, but finally he felt his eardrums begin to -

Then the noise was gone, and when Keith could finally open his eyes again, Jenick was leaning down so he was right by Keith's face.

Keith wanted to say something, then, anything at all, but he could only continue to make pathetic, animal sounds of pain as Jenick waved the device in front of his eyes.

Jenick said, almost in a friendly manner, "You _really_ ought to tell us where the girl is now…because I promise you, from here on out…the damage will be permanent."

All Keith could do that time was grit his teeth and shake his head, feeling all his muscles twitch and shake from fear. The paralytic was wearing off, but that wouldn't do Keith any good now. His arms were broken, so he couldn't even raise his hands to his ears to shut out the horrible sound he knew was coming. Keith wished he could seem stronger, or at least look braver before -

Jenick activated the device again, this time just a few millimeters away from Keith's face, and Keith felt pain - pain such as he had never imagined - sear through every nerve ending and every pain receptor he possessed. He felt his body spasm violently, and then he was screaming, screaming and twisting and convulsing and feeling something break inside his chest-

Then the sound was gone again, but the pain was - the pain was everywhere, and someone was crying now, faint rasps and horrible coughs echoing throughout the cold air of the cave.

Distantly, Keith realized it was him, and the realization made him sick, but he still couldn't stop himself from crying, even though he didn't want to show any kind of weakness in front of these bastards. His entire body was shaking now in fear and pain, but there was only so much anyone could do if they were being tortured. Anyone would cry at this point - hell, it was a perfectly natural reaction -

Then Jenick knelt down and let the device touch the skin in the middle of Keith's chest, directly on the sternum, and said, "Tell us where the girl is, _now_ ," and the man's voice was still cool and even, but both hate and contempt bled through the semblance of rationality.

Keith heard himself whimper then, and he'd never thought he could make a sound like that. It was small, and broken, and terrified. He tried to get away from Jenick, but he couldn't move. He'd been beaten too badly, and everything hurt too much - and he knew, he just _knew_ that he couldn't live through another use of that - that thing that tore him apart from the inside.

Keith almost broke then, he almost broke and told them which tunnel Beyris was in, because he didn't want to die here, alone in the cold, far away from Red, from Shiro, from anyone who cared for him.

But Beyris - Beyris wasn't safe yet - he couldn't - he couldn't let these bastards take her - stars and comets - he just couldn't -

So Keith just shook his head, and then he saw Jenick shrug, his eyes flat and cold and terrifyingly distant.

"All right then," the man said. "I suppose we might as well finish this."

Keith closed his eyes, trying not to whimper, wishing he could just pass out again before anything else happened, because he knew what was coming next.

Jenick activated the device for the final time, holding it directly against Keith's chest, and - it felt - it felt as if his heart had begun to tear itself apart. Keith tried to scream, but his very lungs seemed to have frozen into place, and his blood felt as if it were beginning to boil inside his veins.

Then, from somewhere around him, there was movement, and suddenly he could breathe again - and there were more sounds, different sounds, and then Keith heard a familiar voice right by his ear, and he tried to open his eyes, to see if his team had finally come for him.

It was Rayzor. Rayzor had found him.

Keith's mind wandered then, and for a moment, he couldn't remember if Rayzor was his friend or enemy - he'd put Keith in the Cave before, he'd kicked him in the side - no, this time was - different...wasn't it?

But…everything hurt…everything _hurt_ …then Rayzor was saying something…

Rayzor was saying 'safe', and Keith finally allowed himself to stop thinking, to just close his eyes and try to fall unconscious.

But he still couldn't escape the pain.


	4. First Aid

Rayzor and the other Paladins of Voltron reached the Cave of Ice just in time to see Jenick activate the sonic weapon for what was meant to be the final time - what _would_ be the final time, because Rayzor sliced the claws of that hand off just a few seconds after Jenick activated the device.

There were only three other men standing nearby, watching - just watching - damn their eyes - so Rayzor trusted the three Paladins at his side to stick to the plan, to each take out one enemy while he focused on Jenick, and then they attacked.

Jenick had not expected them to attack him directly. He'd been relying on the Council's way of doing things, of parley and negotiation and _time_ , which of course, was exactly what he wanted. He wanted time to break the Red Paladin, to destroy him, but he had not realized that Rayzor did not think as the Council did.

Rayzor had thought as a leader of the guard would. He took action when it was needed, and once he did, he did so without hesitation, without pause, and without remorse.

Rayzor snarled as he lunged at Jenick, his sword slashing right through the fingers that held the sonic weapon, and as the traitorous Proselyt looked up at Rayzor, his jaw dropped open in an expression of terror and incredulity.

He hadn't expected Rayzor to be quite so straightforward.

If he hadn't need Jenick to testify to the plot in front of the other members of the Council, Rayzor would have taken his head as well as four of his fingers. But since he did need the slimy bastard's testimony, he settled for kicking the little maggot back into one of the ice walls, where the automatic restraints locked into place and ensured Jenick's imprisonment until he could be dealt with.

Rayzor turned his back on Jenick and went straight to Keith's side. The Red Paladin's eyes were closed, but his chest was still moving up and down.

"Paladin?"

The boy's eyes flickered open, and Rayzor heard him try to say something, but Rayzor told him that he was safe now, and then his eyes closed again.

For a moment, Rayzor thought that maybe - no, no, the Paladin was still breathing. Good. They could work with th-

"It's no use," Jenick snarled. His hate for the Red Paladin clearly warred against the pain of his injuries, but he sounded smug all the same. "You can't treat his injuries in time to save him - I made sure of that - "

Hunk had already knocked his opponent out cold with the butt of his gun. Snarling, he stepped over the unconscious body and leaned right into Jenick's face. " _What?_ "

At the same moment, Lance pressed the muzzle of his sniper rifle underneath Jenick's chin, and said, in a very cold, clear voice, "Explain. Explain what you did to Keith, and I'll consider letting you live."

"You can't!" Jenick said, his eyes going huge and terrified at the expression on both Hunk and Lance's faces. "You can't just - Rayzor, we have procedures, we have _laws_ \- "

Rayzor didn't look over at Jenick, but instead cocked his head to one side, as if in puzzlement. "Did you hear something, Paladin?" he asked the Green Paladin, who had already begun to scan Keith's injuries with the device Aurelis had given her before they left the healing chambers.

"Not a thing," Pidge replied, her voice completely neutral. "Must be an insect."

"RAYZOR!" Jenick screamed, terror in his voice. "RAYZOR, YOU CAN'T JUST -"

" _Definitely_ an insect," Rayzor told Pidge. "How is -"

" _Really_ not good," Pidge said, all her attention on the scanner. "I'm getting broken ribs, some internal bleeding - stars, this is _bad_ \- "

Lance and Hunk both turned back towards Jenick, who was now the only conscious enemy in the room, and gave him their very coldest stares. It was a truly terrifying sight, to see how blank their eyes were at that moment.

"Talk," Lance said. He clicked back the setting on his gun and pointed it directly into Jenick's face. "Now."

Jenick broke down. He told them the formula he'd used, and what it did.

At the sound of the drug's name, Rayzor's spine stiffened, and he almost turned to face Jenick, his clawed fingers curling around the hilt of his sword again, but then the form on the floor twitched, and Rayzor turned his attention back to Keith. The Red Paladin had opened his eyes and was trying to look around him.

Lance and Hunk were back at Keith's side in an instant, and Pidge had to hold out her hands in a 'QUIET!' gesture to them because Keith was trying to say something. They all heard the word faintly, almost on the edge of hearing.

"…guys…?" Keith managed before a really horrible cough shook his entire body, and he looked scared then, scared and lost and trying to breathe, his entire body shaking with the effort, and Hunk felt his heart almost stop in fear.

" _Shit_ ," Pidge said, dropping the scanner to one side, pulling something out of her pack. She started to wrap a stabilizing device around Keith's chest. "Help me!" she snarled at the other Paladins, who immediately leapt into action.

"Will this even work?!" Lance asked, his voice much, much higher than usual, because he was scared of the answer, because Keith was still trying to breathe, but it sounded like he couldn't-

"It's - it's Altean - it should at least _help_ -" Pidge said as Hunk lifted Keith's shoulders off the floor so Pidge could get the device around Keith's back and chest at the same time.

As Pidge wrapped the device around Keith's chest, the device began to shimmer and glow. Suddenly Keith was able to breathe again, even though it sounded like it still hurt him, and Lance felt the panic recede, just a little. Keith's eyes were still open, but they were clouded over now, and he didn't seem to be completely aware of what was going on around him.

"Okay - so - how about - we give him something to help him with the pain - " Hunk asked, but Pidge shook her head vehemently, her face pale and her eyes sick.

"Can't chance it yet," she said. "Not until we get him to the infirmary and figure out how to counteract that stuff Jenick put into his system - come on, the faster we move, the faster we can help him - "

Even as she spoke, Lance was already grabbing Keith's legs so they could move him onto the stretcher that Hunk had brought with them. Rayzor reached out to help Lance move their injured friend onto the stretcher, but Keith recoiled from him, shrinking away from Rayzor as if he expected the leader of the guards to attack him.

"-no-" Keith said, and his voice was faint and suddenly, horribly scared. "-n-no-"

The leader of the guards stopped, his eyes going wide in confusion as he realized that Keith thought Rayzor was going to hurt him. But why would he think -

Hunk pushed past Rayzor to help Lance lift Keith onto the stretcher, and Rayzor heard Jenick laugh.

"That's the funny thing about head injuries," Jenick sneered. "-there really is no telling how confused it might make a person. He's probably remembering his first trip to this cave - and you played a part in that, didn't you, Rayzor?"

Jenick's lips curled into a scornful snarl. "Before you went _soft_."

Rayzor felt anger at himself, at Jenick, at _everything_ rise inside his chest then, but he looked back at Pidge, who was grabbing the scanner back up from where she'd dropped it, and she blinked, realizing what this meant.

"Okay - so maybe - Keith's having a flashback," she said to the other Paladins, keeping her voice steady and even. "But - come on, let's get him back to the infirmary - the faster the better - Rayzor, just - follow behind us, okay?"

Lance and Hunk had already lifted the stretcher and started carrying it out of the cave, and Rayzor followed, trying to ignore Jenick's laughter that drifted out of the cave behind them as they left.

Together, they headed straight for the infirmary, Pidge staying by Keith's head the whole time, trying to get a through scan of his injuries, just like Aurelis had told her to do.

" _Wow_ ," she said, "Yeah, he took quite the kick to the head - maybe two - yeah, uh, we need to _move_ \- double-time, people—"

Keith's breaths were even more uneven now, and his eyes had drifted shut again, and Lance promised himself that he would never make the mistake of thinking Keith didn't feel pain again. His friend was _really_ out of it, and Lance felt awful at knowing they had to wait before they could do anything to help him feel better-

But then they were finally at the infirmary, and they were able to lay Keith down on a proper bed, and Aurelis came over to Keith's side as the Paladins stepped back, to allow the healer more room to work.

"I'll need to take a blood sample," Aurelis said, already beginning to swab an area of Keith's arm. "I can't counteract the formula unless I know how it's interacting with his blood -"

"Aurelis - maybe Allura should - " Pidge began, but then Keith opened his eyes again, saw Aurelis leaning over him, and recoiled away from the healer, his face suddenly scared.

"…no…" he said then, and the sound was small and terrified, almost worse than if he'd not said anything at all. "…n-n-no…don't-"

Aurelis blinked at that, but he quickly finished his work, even though Keith tried to get away from him as he did so, his face going pale, his breaths coming harsher, faster.

Allura and Coran looked at each other in confusion, but Pidge explained her theory. "He took a pretty good hit to the head - I think - he's confused -" she said. "Probably best if we - uh - don't aggravate it - "

Aurelis' fingers shook as he finished taking the blood sample, but he nodded. "Right," he said, stepping away from Keith and motioning for Rayzor do the same. The leader of the guards went to stand by the door, out of Keith's direct line of sight. The Red Paladin closed his eyes then, and he seemed to breathe slightly easier once the perceived threat was gone.

Pidge continued then, trying to ignore the way Rayzor wasn't looking at anyone in the room. "Aurelis, you said over the comms that you might have a way to counteract the formula?"

"It's something we can try," Aurelis said, "but I - I've never used it on a half-Galra before - if it's not the right amount, it'll only make the formula's effects stronger - we _have_ to get it right on the first attempt - "

"I've got an idea for that," Pidge said. "I think I can - "

Keith's breaths came harsher then, and he gritted out a cry of pain, his entire body beginning to tremble again. Coran was at his side immediately, putting a hand on Keith's shoulder, but the Red Paladin didn't open his eyes at Coran's touch. The Royal Advisor looked over at Allura, and his face was pale with concern.

"Can't we-" he began, but Aurelis cut over him, his voice grim.

"We can't give him anything for the pain until we counteract the formula. Not only would it take no effect, but it could cause complications later on - I'm sorry - I wish we could - "

Allura looked back at Coran, then down at Keith again. She bit her lip, nodding, and looked over at Pidge.

"Whatever you're going to do," Allura said, and her voice was even and flat, "do it quickly, Pidge. He doesn't have much time."

Pidge pushed her glasses back onto her nose. It had become a nervous habit of hers, even though the glasses themselves were just frames now, and it didn't make a blind bit of difference if they were on or off her nose when it came to her vision.

"Right," she said. "Aurelis, I need one of your medical scanners and that blood sample. Do you have any samples of that formula Jenick injected Keith with?"

Aurelis shook his head. "No," he said. "It's a banned substance - has been for years - I could find the formula in our records if we had more time, but -"

From where he stood near the door, Rayzor held up a mostly empty syringe. "I found this on the ground, near where I found Beyris," he said. "I thought - maybe - "

Coran snatched it from him and handed it to Aurelis, who looked at it under a special light, then under a microscope, and nodded.

"That's it," he said, "That's what Jenick used."

"Good," Pidge said. "Lance, Hunk, hold those for me which I set this up."

Within a few short moments, she had arranged a few pieces of medical equipment to form what looked like a sort of improvised lab setup. She spoke over her shoulder as she worked.

"For the record," she said, "I don't know if I can hack something biological. At least, I really doubt it's possible, and at best, I'm guessing it's improbable."

"Well, look at it this way - " Coran said, trying as ever to be positive, "if you do it, you'll make history."

Allura thought - but did not say - that it was also true that unless they somehow neutralized the formula's effects on Keith - and soon - he wasn't going to make it long enough to get into a healing cryo-pod. He would die right here in this infirmary, surrounded by the medical equipment that could have helped him.

They couldn't let that happen.

The Princess of Altea looked back towards the far end of the room, towards the pod where Shiro still slept, his healing cycle still hours from completion.

What would she tell him if -

 _No, don't think that way,_ she told herself. _We can do this. We can still save Keith._

Pidge cracked her fingers, once, twice, and then her neck, her face completely serious and almost fierce behind her glasses.

"Stand back, bitches," she said. "I'm going to try science."

Pidge held out her hand towards Lance. "Blood sample," she said. Lance gently handed her the test-tub-looking-thing Aurelis had just taken of Keith's blood. With no small amount of care, she placed it into one of the holding devices.

She held out her other hand. "Scanner." Hunk handed her the scanner Aurelis had found for her, and Pidge carefully fixed it into place.

"And - now named after Jenick - the 'son-of-a-bitch-formula'," Pidge concluded. Lance handed the mostly-empty syringe Rayzor had found to her, and she bared her teeth at it as she fixed it into place.

The blood sample, the 'son-of-a-bitch formula', and the scanner all sat, carefully balanced, on the strange device Pidge had thrown together in under two minutes. The scanner took two detailed readings, first of the blood sample, then of the traces of formula. There were three chirping sounds, then silence.

"Okay, you little bastard," Pidge said, hunching over her keyboard and typing so quickly, Lance was surprised there wasn't smoke flying from her fingertips. "Tell me everything you know."

A few moments passed, and then, suddenly, numbers, cyphers, and letters filled the air in front of the remaining Paladins of Voltron.

It was eerily beautiful and unnerving at the same time. It looked like a strange hybrid of science and magic, and the glowing notes of light were pretty enough to stare at forever. Hunk let out a startled gasp, and Lance's jaw dropped open.

Then Pidge saw it. It was a simple enough section of information, just a tiny row of data that began to glow like an array of stars, but it could mean the difference between life and death for Keith.

She shouted in triumph and pointed it out to Aurelis, who immediately wrote the symbols down and then began gathering flasks and syringes, hastily mixing together something in a beaker.

After a few moments, the lights and twinkling sparks of data suddenly vanished from the air around them, and Lance turned towards Pidge and asked what in the name of the sun and stars had just happened.

"I projected the composition of the formula and the structure of Keith's blood onto the air - like - like overlapping holograms," Pidge said, slumping back in her chair. "I kinda just - made a - a - a Proselyt computer scan through Keith's DNA in under a minute while _also_ comparing his DNA to the formula to see what would make an effective antidote for a half-Galra. Aurelis could read it - because he's a healer - and - and now he's mixing up an antidote for Keith."

Hunk was too busy watching the healer work to fully appreciate the marvel of Pidge's technical accomplishment, but the Green Paladin wasn't really focusing on it much either. She just hoped theinformation she'd found could save Keith's life.

Everyone went quiet as they all watched Aurelis inject the newly-invented antidote into Keith's arm.

If this worked, they'd be able to treat Keith's injuries in time to save him.

If not -

No.

Pidge refused to consider that possibility.


	5. Confusion and Pain

Even as the antidote entered his bloodstream, Keith arched his back and cried out in pain once more, and Lance winced at the sound, feeling something tighten inside his own chest, and he saw Pidge clap both hands to her mouth in horror.

"Oh, God," Pidge said, and she jumped to her feet, her nerves completely shot. "Did - did it - oh God, did I make it _worse_?"

Taking a few steps away from Keith, Aurelis began scanning the injection site with another one of his handheld scanners. For what seemed an eternity, he said nothing.

"It's working - " he said at last, and Pidge let out a relieved breath and collapsed back onto her chair. Lance and Hunk clapped her on the shoulders, and Allura let out a shaky breath in relief while Coran unclenched his fists, ever so slightly.

"-but it's not completely done yet," Aurelis said. "We - we have to let it work for a little while longer - I'm afraid we still can't give him any pain relief medicine -not until the antidote's completely finished working-"

Keith's eyes flickered opened then, and he seemed to be trying to focus on his surroundings. At the sight of Aurelis, he looked scared, but then he saw Allura standing near the healer, and confusion crossed his face.

"…Allura…?" he managed, looking between the two of them. His voice was harsh, barely more than a whisper. "…what…"

Aurelis spoke to Allura in a low voice, trying not to attract Keith's attention.

"It's all right - he's usually been confused after receiving medication - and his head injuries are - certainly contributing - so - just give it a bit more time. Once the antidote takes full effect, we can put him into the healing cryo-pod. It should only take a few minutes - "

The Princess nodded at Aurelis' words, and she reached out a hand towards Keith's face, trying to reassure him.

"Keith, I know you're scared," she said, laying her hand gently on his cheek, "-but you're all right, you're safe, we're going to make sure you get better -"

Keith had just turned his head and seen Rayzor where the leader of the guards stood near the door. Suddenly, Keith startled backwards, away from Allura's hand, looking up at her in what seemed to be confusion and fear, swiftly followed by -

Pain. Lance saw pain cross Keith's face then, and it wasn't just physical pain - it was - it was _betrayal_. Keith thought that somehow the Princess had betrayed him.

But how -

Allura flinched away from the look as if Keith had struck her, but tried again to reassure him. "Keith, please, listen to me, it's all right, I know you're confused, but-"

But Keith was looking around again, his eyes frantic, still clouded in confusion and fear. "Shiro-?" he called, and when there was no answer, he swallowed, and his voice rose higher in panic. " _Shiro?!_ "

Then Allura was telling the Red Paladin that he had to stay still, that he was badly injured, but Keith didn't seem to be listening to her. His breaths were coming faster, and sweat was standing out on his forehead.

" _Where's - Shiro?_ " Keith asked again, trying to sit up. He looked at Coran, and his voice was hoarse and scared. "Coran - where is he - I have to find him - it's - it's not safe -"

Coran exchanged looks with Allura, and she nodded, biting her lip. Keith clearly wasn't in his right mind at the moment, and he seemed to be convinced that he was still in danger.

Aurelis had already taken a sedation patch from a drawer and held it out towards Coran, out of Keith's line of sight. The healer spoke in a low voice again.

"This should help - at least a little bit - we just need to calm him down - I wish we didn't have to - but we can't risk him worsening his injuries -"

Coran took the sedation patch from Aurelis and turned back towards Keith. Allura was still trying to reassure the Red Paladin, reaching out again towards him, but Keith was recoiling away from her, as if he couldn't bear the thought of her touch.

"It's all right - Keith, you're a bit - confused right now, but - but everything's fine - "

As Coran placed the sedation patch onto Keith's neck, he felt Keith stiffen, and suddenly, he was looking at Coran with that same look of betrayal that he'd given Allura. Coran felt the look cut right into his heart, deeper than any knife.

"Keith," Allura said, and although her voice was steady, Pidge saw tears on her face, "Keith, I promise, you're safe. You have nothing to fear here-" but Keith had flinched away from them both and turned his head away from them, as if he couldn't bear to look at either Coran or Allura any longer.

"N-no-" Keith gritted, and he tried to reach up, to tear the patch off his neck, but both his arms were broken, and his fingers wouldn't work the way he wanted them to. All they did was twitch, and when Keith realized there was no way to take the patch off, he swallowed once, and his eyes darted back towards the other Paladins.

Somehow he seemed to be even more scared than he had been a few moments before. His breaths were coming harsher now, as if he'd been running, and his eyes were starting to glow yellow.

"Pidge," he said, "Pidge, help me - _please_ \- you've got - you've got to get me out of here - "

The Green Paladin stood frozen in place, looking first at Keith, then at Allura and Coran, and then back again to Keith, pain and confusion on her face.

"Keith - I can't," she said, and although she tried to keep her voice soothing, it cracked mid-way, and she had to gulp back tears before continuing. "I- I can't - Keith, we're _helping_ you - "

But Keith was suddenly trying to sit up again, and he seemed desperate now. His fingers had claws now instead of fingernails, and he raised his voice as he choked out,

"No - you're _not_ \- you don't - _listen_ , _I have to find Shiro_ \- it's not - safe here - I -"

Confused and upset by his distress, Pidge flinched away from Keith just as Aurelis activated a setting on the medical pad he held, his face grim. Thin, glowing bands of energy suddenly rose up from the sides of the bed and wrapped gently around Keith's shoulders, wrists, torso, knees, and ankles, pulling him back down onto the bed, much like the Altean double-lock protocol had once kept Shiro from pulling his stitches open.

Keith stopped speaking and looked down at his body, at the glowing bands that encircled him. He seemed confused. He looked back up at Pidge, and then down at the glowing bands once more.

"Wh-what - Pidge-"

His face went white at the sight of his hands, sharp claw tips gleaming at the edges instead of fingernails. He swallowed and looked up towards Pidge again, and said, his voice now scared and small,

"Pidge - p-please - don't - I'm - I'm sorry - I didn't mean to - "

Pidge felt tears burn in her eyes, and she buried her face into her hands, unable to look at him. Keith sounded as if he thought they had activated the restraints because she'd been angry or frightened, and that wasn't it, that wasn't it _at all_ , they were just trying to keep him from moving and hurting himself.

"His arms are _broken_ ," Aurelis said to Coran and Allura as they both turned towards him, their faces set and pale at Keith's obvious distress. The healer's voice was firm, but he was also clearly upset as he continued to speak. "I assure you, this is the least painful way of keeping him still until the sedative kicks in. At least it's something we can use without worsening the injuries - he's in enough pain right now as it is - "

Keith was looking around now, still confused, still scared, his breathing hitched and unsteady. Suddenly he shook his head, as if trying to clear it, and Coran felt a sudden pang of fear.

Keith had taken at least one terrible blow to the head - he shouldn't be moving his head like that - they _had_ to made the sedative work faster if they were to keep him from harming himself.

"Aurelis is right," Coran said. "We have to keep him still -"

Allura bit back a sob as she saw that Keith's face had frozen in confusion and pain at Coran's words, and now the Red Paladin was staring in horror at the Alteans as if Coran had just sentenced him to death.

" _No_ -" Keith said, and then he looked back at Aurelis in sudden terror. " _No_ \- please - I - I - "

Hunk moved forward, wanting to reassure Keith, to try and help him understand that he _was_ safe, he _was_ okay, that it _was_ it was going to be all right. As he stepped forward, Hunk heard Aurelis agreeing with Coran, saying that they'd have to give Keith more sedative, and quickly.

"-It's his Galra blood, it's slowing down the sedative - we _have_ to keep him still - at least until the formula is completely neutralized-" Aurelis said as he picked up something that looked like an oxygen mask. The healer connected the mask to a tube that lead to - to some sort of container Hunk guessed had an airborne medication in it, something that would help the sedative work faster once Keith breathed it in through the mask.

Keith was looking between Coran and Allura now as if he couldn't believe they would let Aurelis do this to him. He swallowed again, his face pale, and when Hunk finally reached his side, Keith looked up at him, and said, his voice frantic,

"-Hunk - _please_ \- tell them - tell them I - I - didn't know, I _didn't_ _know_ I was part-Galra -"

Hunk's mouth dropped open in horrified understanding as Keith's entire body began trembling in fear, his eyes darting around the room as if he was completely surrounded by enemies.

"- they'll believe you - _please_ \- I didn't know - I _didn't_ \- you _have_ to believe me - "

When Keith had seen Rayzor by the door - and Aurelis standing next to Allura and Coran - he must have thought that the team had joined forces with the alien race that had once tried to kill him because of his bloodline.

Keith thought they were going to hurt him, that they were going to experiment on him or try to interrogate him about the Galra.

Stars above, no wonder Keith was so frightened. He thought he was a prisoner.

Hunk tried to reassure Keith, to tell him that he was just confused, that he'd taken a bad kick to the head, but Keith just looked back at him in terror and hopeless fear. Hunk realized that nothing he could say would convince Keith he wasn't in danger, because his friend was too confused and in too much pain to understand any reassurance Hunk could give.

Feeling sickened, Hunk turned to the rest of the room and tried to explain what he had guessed. At Hunk's words, Rayzor's eyes went flat and his spine stiffened, and Aurelis' face only showed a terrible, horrified expression as he looked back at Keith.

Keith saw the way they all looked at him then, and he obviously believed they meant him harm. His lips went completely bloodless with fear, and his hands began to shake. With an effort, he tightened them into fists, trying to hide the claws that had taken the place of his fingernails.

Lance winced as blood began to drip down onto the floor as the sharp edges of the claws pressed into Keith's palms. Keith tried to swallow again, couldn't, and said, his voice barely more than a whisper,

"- _please_ \- I didn't know - I _swear_ \- I'm _not_ a spy - I'm _not_ -"

Aurelis' fingers tightened on the mask, and Rayzor moved slowly so that he stood with his back turned to the room at large. Lance felt his lip begin to tremble, and he saw Pidge had hidden her face in her hands again.

Keith was pleading with them now, his eyes wide with fear as he looked from Aurelis and Rayzor and back again to Allura and Coran, who looked heartsick and devastated.

"- _please_ \- you've got to believe me - I swear, I didn't know, I - I _didn't_ -"

Rayzor's shoulders tensed then, but he didn't turn back around. Lance felt as though he would have preferred a knife wound to the chest rather than see Keith so frightened of them. He swallowed, but he knew there was nothing anyone could say right now to make Keith believe that he wasn't in danger. Keith was just too confused, too scared, and in too much pain to understand that he was safe, that no one in this room would ever harm him.

Aurelis had to swallow before he spoke to Hunk, who was standing nearest to him.

"I'm quite sure - that - that this sedative - will help him," Aurelis said, his tone flat, carefully controlled. "But - but given his - his current state of mind - I - I don't think I should - "

Hunk nodded his head in agreement. "No, it should - it should be one of us," he said, and he took the oxygen mask from Aurelis' hands and turned back towards Keith. Hunk had tried to keep the mask low, out of sight, until maybe Keith had calmed down a little, but Keith had seen Hunk take the mask from Aurelis and was now shrinking away from Hunk in fear.

"- no - I'm _not_ a spy - please -"

Keith looked over at Pidge then, almost crying now, his voice desperate and scared, completely terrified.

"-Katie - I _swear_ , I - I - didn't know - _please_ \- help me -"

But Pidge only shuddered as if he'd struck her, unable to say anything, still holding her hands over her face and crying.

As Hunk reached towards Keith's face, the Red Paladin twisted his head away, desperately trying to avoid the mask, his breaths rasping in his chest as he tried to get enough air.

"- _no_ \- I swear - I'm not a spy - _please_ -"

Allura stepped forward, obviously wanting to help, but Coran took hold of her arm and kept her from getting any nearer to Keith.

"I'm sorry, Princess," Coran said, and when she looked at him, she saw he was crying too. "But - but we'll only make it worse if we - if we try to help right now."

Hunk bit his lip, feeling like he wanted to cry too. He wasn't sure if he could put the mask on Keith like this without moving his head too much and hurting him - but then Lance was at Keith's other side.

" _Lance_ ," Keith said, his voice breaking, tears starting to spill from his eyes, "Lance - _please_ \- I'm _not_ a Galra spy - you _have_ to believe me -"

"I know, buddy," Lance said. His eyes were set and sad, but his voice was steady. "I know."

Then the Blue Paladin reached down with both hands and held Keith's head still so Hunk could put the mask over his head. Realizing what Lance was doing, Keith tried desperately to break free from Lance's grip, but though gentle, it was firm, and Keith couldn't pull his face away.

As Hunk brought the mask down and fixed it firmly in place over Keith's nose and mouth, Keith looked directly up into Lance's eyes, and it was a look of betrayal, hurt, and a pain so intense, Lance wished he could somehow erase this entire hour from his memory.

Lance wanted to tell Keith that this mask _was_ going to help him, that the only thing any of them wanted to do was to help him, but the words wouldn't come. And anyway, Keith might never listen to him again, or any of them. Not after what they'd just done.

Lance told himself it was going to be okay, that once Keith's head injury was treated, and he got out of the healing pod, he'd understand why they'd done this to him, why they'd had to secure him, why they'd had to put the mask on him. But he wasn't sure if he'd ever forget the way Keith was looking up at them all right now.

It was a heart-wrenching look, one that conveyed - not anger - anger was something Lance could have taken in stride quite easily - no, it was a look of pain, of fear, of complete betrayal. It was a heartbreakingly vulnerable expression, and Lance wished Keith would just scream at them, call them traitors, do _anything_ but look at them like that.

When the hiss of the machine sounded a moments later, Keith winced and shut his eyes tight, his breaths coming harsh and jagged, almost as if he expected to breathe in poison instead of medicine. A few short moments later, he started crying. It was almost completely silent, but somehow it was worse than anything else would have been.

Hunk went completely white and flinched as if he'd been punched in the stomach, and Lance turned away and put a hand over his face, letting the tears fall to the floor. He promised himself that once this was all over, he would never, ever bring any of this up, not ever, not if the Galra tortured him and wanted to know every single detail of this entire awful experience, not if they burned his skin or froze his eyes or dug into his brain with chopsticks.

Never in a million years would he ever talk about this.


	6. Worst Fears

When Lance and Hunk put the mask on him, Keith felt fear, and pain, and a terrible loneliness engulf him, and he stopped trying to get away, he just stopped fighting, because his team wasn't going to help him. They were going to stand there and watch as this race who hated _anything_ Galra thought of new ways to hurt him - but why would they - how could they - do that to him -

 _It was because they thought he was a Galra spy. They thought he was the enemy._

Keith looked up at them - Lance, Pidge, Hunk, Allura, Coran - and he wished he felt anger towards them in that moment. Anger was something he knew how to handle, he could harness it and use it, but somehow, the anger just wouldn't come.

He only felt dizzy, sick, alone, and completely, utterly lost. He hurt, he hurt worse then he ever had before in his life, and he didn't understand how his team could just stand there, looking down at him, and let him hurt like this - it felt like there were knives inside him - the pain was _everywhere_ -

 _Stars - it even hurt to breathe now - his chest felt as if it were on fire -_

He would have died for them, gone through fire for them, but they hated him, they _had_ to hate him, because why else would they strap him down and put this horrible mask on his face and just watch him hurt like this -

The pain of knowing his team hated him hurt Keith worse then his injuries, worse then anything he could remember, and he almost wished he could die then, because what was the point of fighting when you had nothing to live for-

Then he heard the hiss and hum of the machine beside him begin to whir into life, and Keith shut his eyes tight and cried. He cried out of pain and desperate loneliness, and because he had lost everyone he cared for. As he cried, his lungs ached, and his head throbbed, and he felt everything start slipping away from him, no matter how hard he tried to stay awake.

Keith knew he couldn't do anything to stop this from happening, he couldn't do anything to keep from breathing in whatever compound they'd made especially for the Galra spy - but _he wasn't a spy_ , he _wasn't,_ but no one had believed him…

Everything seemed to be fading now, and suddenly, a different fear ran through him - no, dammit - he wasn't going to just lie down and die - he wanted to live, _dammit_ \- he wouldn't just give up -

He tried to open his eyes, to see what was happening around him, but it was difficult. It felt as if his eyelids were weighed down with lead, and all the sounds around him were starting to spin into meaningless noise.

In frustration, Keith ground his teeth together and felt sharp points dig into his bottom lip. That sudden, unexpected pain brought awareness racing back to him for a moment.

He had to try - he had to try and learn what was happening to him -

He made a final effort and opened an eye, forcing himself to concentrate on the sounds around him, forcing himself to listen, to understand. He saw that the group had come closer, and they were all looking down at him, and their faces were -

Worried.

Why…why were they _worried_ …?

"Be _careful_!" Lance was saying over his shoulder to someone. "It's supposed to _help_ him! He's got a head injury - we've got to be _careful_ -"

A voice - someone Keith had trouble placing - replied in a short, abrupt tone. "I _know that_ , Paladin, I'm a _healer!_ Stop telling me what to d _-_ "

Then Pidge was slapping Lance's arm and pointing at Keith's face, and then all of his team's faces were even closer to him, and they seemed like they were talking over each other.

"Dude!" Hunk said, and his friendly face was drawn and pale, "Keith, man, _please_ tell me you're feeling better-"

Pidge poked her head up beside Hunk, her teeth worrying the edge of her lip, and she hissed, "Of course he's not feeling better _yet_ , Hunk, he's practically _unconscious_ -"

"Careful, Pidge!" Lance hissed at her, pointing down at Keith's side, "-you almost put pressure on his _broken_ _arm_ -"

Pidge's face went pale in something resembling panic, and she let out a curse word she must have heard Keith use once.

She said a name then - " _Jenick_ , that little - I'll _kill_ him for hurting Keith this badly, I swear to _God_ I will - "

Dazedly, Keith realized they were worried about _him_.

Sedative. Head Injury. Healer. Broken Arm.

Those weren't interrogation words.

They weren't trying to hurt him.

But - then - who -

 _Where's the girl?_

 _S-safe-_

Jenick. The formula. It had been Jenick who'd done this to him.

Not his team.

They had been trying… to help…him…

Keith felt a sudden surge of relief overwhelm him, and a sense of safety suddenly return that he had thought was gone forever.

His team hadn't betrayed him.

They would never hurt him.

Stars, he'd been scared over nothing.

Keith felt someone touch his face then, and then he heard Allura talking to Coran, her voice worried, asking if there was any way they might be able to make sure Keith was comfortable, if maybe they should loosen the mask - if it might be hurting him -

Keith tried to respond to Allura's concern - he wanted her to know he was okay now - that he'd heard and understood enough. He mustered enough energy to mutter, "…'m fine…now…'llura…"

Around him, everyone suddenly went quiet. Just the beep and hum of the machine sounded then, and Keith felt himself drifting off into the darkness, felt his eyelid sliding shut again. He wanted to say more, but the sedative was pulling him under fast, and that was only thing he managed to say before he felt his mind drift away.

But it was okay.

His team hadn't left him.

They were right here.


	7. Better than the Enemy

Even after Keith closed his eyes, the team stayed huddled around him, none of them willing to move away just yet.

"-or any way to keep him from biting his lip - " Allura was asking Coran, her voice low and worried, "-just something to help - "

But then the healer was telling them that since the sedative was working now, they should stand aside and let him do a blood test to see if it was safe to put Keith into a cryopod.

"So _move_ ," Aurelis said, his tone back to its usual brisk efficiency now that Keith was resting, "I can't do it _properly_ if you're all huddled around the bed, getting in my way - "

Grudgingly, Lance and Hunk moved aside to let the healer do his work, and Hunk saw that Rayzor still had his back turned towards them, and suddenly Hunk realized that Rayzor hadn't really moved at all since -

Since Hunk had told them why Keith was so scared.

Stars, no wonder Rayzor didn't want to look at them. He was probably ashamed of how he had contributed to Keith's fear.

A lot of things went through Hunk's mind then, and he remembered how angry he'd been at the leader of the guards for hurting Keith, back when they'd first landed on the planet.

But a lot of things had happened since then. Rayzor had proven time and time again that he'd changed for the better…and it had even looked like Keith and Rayzor had started to become friends.

Hunk steeled himself and went over to Rayzor. The leader of the guards was staring out of the door, seeming to be keeping close watch on the hall.

"I'll put my best men on guard duty here," Rayzor said as Hunk approached him. "No one will get in."

Hunk nodded, looking out the door too, to where only lights and shadows inhabited the hall. The safety protocols were still on, but they would come off soon.

"And I'll take Jenick to the Council too," Rayzor said. "He'll stand trial for what - "

He broke off and cleared his throat before continuing. "-for what he did."

Hunk looked over at a small form on a sofa nearby, huddled under Keith's red jacket. The small girl still slept soundly - thank the stars. Hunk didn't want to think about what Beyris might have overheard otherwise.

"Beyris could stay here with us, if you like," Hunk told Rayzor. "I - I mean, I don't want to tell you how to protect her, but - uh, I know I speak for everyone when I say that - that we'd make sure she's all right."

Rayzor nodded once, stiffly. "I know." He turned to look sideways at Hunk then, and his red eyes softened a little as he saw the sincerity in Hunk's face. "Thank you."

Then Rayzor's shoulders relaxed a little, and he let out a slow breath as he said, "You know…the sonic weapon Jenick used…I…" he broke off, but then continued in a determined manner. "It's a dangerous tool - I - I should have never allowed it to be - so widely distributed - "

Hunk wanted to clench his fists, to break something, at the mention of Jenick's name, but instead he just nodded. "I - I guess…hindsight is twenty-twenty, huh?"

Rayzor blinked, looking confused, and Hunk explained. "Sorry - it's an Earth saying - it means - it means that it's easier to know the right thing to do after something has happened."

Rayzor nodded once, slowly. "You're saying it's easier to see something from a distance?"

Hunk shrugged. "Basically."

Rayzor looked down the corridor, towards where Jenick and his co-conspirators still waited to be taken into custody, and his eyes narrowed in something resembling anger, disgust, and no small amount of self-loathing.

"I know what _I'd_ like to see at a distance," Pidge said. Hunk and Rayzor both jumped when they realized she'd come up to stand beside them. She was glaring down the tunnel in the same direction Rayzor had been looking. "I'd like to see Jenick flying out an airlock, that's what _I'd_ like to see-"

"Pidge," Lance said, and Hunk realized the Blue Paladin had come over to Hunk's other side. The Blue Paladin's tone was teasing, but there was enough sincerity in it to make Lance's next words strike home. "Where are we going to get an airlock on a _planet_? See, you gotta think these things through-"

Rayzor felt a savage smile cross his face, and he turned to look at Lance. There had been something he'd wanted to ask the Blue Paladin.

"Were you really going to kill Jenick?" he asked. "Back in the cave?"

Lance shrugged, but there was steel in his voice when he answered. "Nah, I had it set to stun. Mostly. It would have hurt like hell, but he would have lived through it. Probably."

The Blue Paladin smiled then, and it was a harsher expression then usually crossed his features. "Of course, _Jenick_ didn't know that. He just assumed I meant the shot would be a fatal one."

Pidge shoved her glasses up onto her nose, nodding. "See, I would argue that he didn't have the _right_ to know that information," she said. "That bastard has a really twisted view of the world - so of course he assumed you were _actually_ going to kill him while he was completely helpless-"

Hunk patted Lance on the shoulder with one hand and hugged Pidge with his other arm. "Come on, guys," he said. "I totally agree with you that Jenick is - is an absolutely horrible person - but let's not talk about him anymore."

He turned his head back towards where Coran and Allura were standing by the healer. They'd just initiated the cryo-pod healing sequence, and Hunk could see the domed barrier shimmer into place over Keith's still form.

Rayzor turned to look as well, and then Aurelis was calling them all over.

"He should be all right," Aurelis said, leaning against a nearby table and wiping the sweat from his face. His clawed hands were shaking slightly, now that Keith was safely on his way to recovery. "I don't think - I don't think he'll remember most of what happened after you attacked Jenick in the caves, but - but I think it would be best if Rayzor and I…if we…"

"If we aren't around when he comes out of the cryo-pod," Rayzor said flatly. He looked back over towards where Beyris still slept, but Coran was nodding.

"I understand," Coran said. "We'll…we'll make sure he's not - not -"

"Scared of me," Rayzor cut in. "You can say it, Coran. It's not as if he didn't have good reason to be at one time. Head injury or not, it's an understandable feeling."

Allura winced at that, but there was undeniable truth in Rayzor's words.

"Rayzor," she said, "be that as it may - I hope you'll still leave Beyris here. I think - I think she'd feel safest with us."

Rayzor nodded. "I've already contacted my men. Once the safety barriers come down, they'll come directly here, and I'll go directly to the Council with this news and an armed escort.

"And Jenick?" Allura asked, and she saw Rayzor bare his teeth in something that was not quite a smile, but not quite a smirk either.

"He's perfectly fine where he is," Rayzor said. "Our race has a high tolerance for the cold. I think he'll manage until I send some guards to get him and his accomplices."

"Which would be…when, exactly?" Coran asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Hard to say," Rayzor replied. "Today. Tomorrow. A week from now. It's _so_ hard to remember everything when you're as busy as I am, now that I'm a member of the Council."

Allura didn't know whether to smirk or feel somewhat incredulous, but she saw that Rayzor's words were meant mostly in jest, and even as she realized it, he sighed and truly answered the question in a resigned tone of voice.

"Truthfully - a few hours," Rayzor said. "It'll take that long to make sure I have everything in place so he can't weasel his way out of a trial. Security feeds, statements from you all, that sort of thing."

Coran nodded, seeming satisfied. "As much as I wish we could leave Jenick and his men in that cave for longer…it…"

"-would mean we weren't any different from them," Pidge said. She said it flatly, knowing that being 'better' than one's enemies was easier said than done, especially when that enemy had threatened a child and almost tortured a friend to death.

Rayzor looked around at the group then, and a hard smile came into his eyes.

"Don't think he'll get away with this," Rayzor said. "I'm part of the Council, now, remember. He's going to regret ever laying a claw on Keith."

Allura blinked at that. Rayzor had just used Keith's name - his _name_ \- not his title, and the leader of the guards had done so without any trace of hesitation.

Members of Rayzor's race only called someone of another race by name if that person had earned their deepest respect.

It was a gesture that meant a great deal, and Allura did not miss the significance of the moment.

Rayzor cared for each of them, but Keith had earned his deepest respect.

Allura felt a fierce smile cross her face, and she and Rayzor exchanged a nod of understanding.

Jenick may not regret his actions, but he certainly was going to answer for them.


	8. Actions Speak Louder than Words

Rayzor presented the appropriate security feeds to the Council as proof of the Jenick's guilt in the kidnapping attempt.

Jenick had apparently hoped to scrub the security footage after he'd forced Rayzor to step down as a Council member.

Clearly he and his co-conspirators had not had the chance.

Keith and Lance's intervention had waylaid their plans in more than one way.

Amryl, the guardsman in charge of the security footage, confirmed that none of it had not been tampered with before the Council took it as evidence.

It was difficult to watch the security footage, but Rayzor sat perfectly still and watched the entire reel, along with the other members of the Council. From when Lance had first realized that something was amiss, to when Jenick and his men had attacked, to the final events in the Cave of Ice. Everything had been recorded.

Rayzor took dark satisfaction in Jenick's expression when it became clear that the events in the abandoned tunnels had been recorded. Pidge had gladly helped retrieve the security footage of what had transpired in the abandoned tunnels. So, in the end, the Council saw the entire thing from start to finish.

As the security footage showed the events in the Cave of Ice, Rayzor realized that his claws were carving furrows into the table in front of him only when he looked down and saw blood on his hands.

He looked back up in time to see the moment when he'd attacked Jenick, and he thought, almost disinterestedly, that it was odd to see it from a different angle. He could have sworn Jenick's face had been paler, his eyes wider, his scream of surprise and pain pitched higher when'd he slammed against the ice wall and was automatically secured to it.

But perhaps it was only the lighting. Security feeds could only show so much detail.

It said a lot about the members of the Council by the way they reacted to what they'd seen on the security feeds.

None of them raised a possible vote of concern that Jenick had acted 'for the greater good'.

None of them voted to prosecute the Red Paladin for the deaths of the men in the tunnels.

None of them protested when Rayzor moved to limit the use of the sonic weapons.

All of them agreed that Jenick should face a fighter of the Red Paladin's choosing in combat for punishment of his crimes.

"I would volunteer," Rayzor said, calmly, evenly, keeping his hands folded on his lap to hide the blood under his claws, "but from what little I know of these matters, Council members are discouraged from taking part in - this type of formal combat."

"When possible," an older Council member said. He tilted his head and looked at Rayzor. "However, there are exceptions…"

Rayzor shook his head, once, firmly. "I will let the Red Paladin choose who he will," he said. "But I will insist upon one thing."

"Name it," another Council member said.

Rayzor bared his teeth at where Jenick stood, and when the leader of the guards spoke, his voice was deathly quiet.

" _If_ Jenick survives the combat," Rayzor said, "he is to be banished from this planet, and will be sent to a distant moon, where he can live out his days with the other co-conspirators, never to return here again."

"Agreed," the older Council member said. The other Council members voiced their opinions, and for once, it was unanimously agreed.

From where he stood in front of the Council, a guard on either side of him, Jenick blinked and looked around in surprise, but no one looked back at him.

"You can't be serious," Jenick said, but Rayzor looked directly at him then, and Jenick quailed under his gaze.

"You. Tried," Rayzor said, and he only kept his voice level because now his claws gripped the table in front of him, "To. Kidnap. A. Child. Who happens, as you _well_ know, to be my _niece_. By all rights, I should have ripped out your throat in the Cave of Ice."

Jenick's jaw dropped open at that statement, but a few of the other Council members seemed to nod in agreement as Rayzor made his point.

"-I'm pretty sure we could make that a bylaw -" the youngest Council member said under his breath. "If it isn't one already, it really, _really_ should be-"

"I - I was only - " Jenick tried to say, but then there was a snapping sound, and Rayzor realized that he'd just broken off part of the Council table. The crack and snap echoed throughout the room, and part of Rayzor was very, very satisfied to see Jenick jump in place, his eyes going wide in sudden fear.

Once the echo faded, Rayzor continued to speak, his voice even, flat, and very, very soft.

"You _also_ tortured one of our allies, almost to the point of death."

"He's a bloody Galra!" Jenick screamed then, but Rayzor cut over him, and his voice was a terrifying thing to listen to.

"Be glad I hold myself to a higher code of conduct than you, Jenick. However- Council member or not, I would gladly see you dead. Do not test me. I assure you, it would not end well for you."

Rayzor motioned for the guards surrounding Jenick to return him to his cell. Once they had left the room, the rest of the Council began to rise from their chairs and leave the room, a few of them looking slightly askance at Rayzor. He realized he still held the piece of table he'd broken off in his claws, and he unclenched them enough to let the pieces fall to the floor.

As the jagged fragments fell to the ground, the youngest Council member - whose name was Redrin - came over and looked at Rayzor with something like admiration in his eyes.

"Can't say I ever liked this table," he said. Rayzor lifted his eyes and met Redrin's gaze, and he saw the other Council member was smiling. "It's always been a bit…fragile."

"I apologize," Rayzor said, rising to his feet. "I did not realize my own strength-"

Redrin shook his head. "Please - no apology is necessary." He smiled over at Rayzor and extended a hand. "I'm just surprised you didn't kill the little maggot in the caves. How _did_ you restrain yourself?"

Rayzor felt slightly surprised that this Council member was so blunt, but then again, he was relatively new to the Council as well.

"I didn't - not really," Rayzor said as he shook Redrin's hand. "As you saw - I did take four of his fingers."

He'd expected the Council member to look shocked, or at least somewhat appalled, but instead, Redrin just shrugged, in a 'well-what-can-you-do-in-those-situations' sort of way.

"He was torturing the Red Paladin, yes?" Redrin asked. "If it had continued any longer, he might have - well - anyway, if my opinion matters - which I know it might not, since I only just met you a few days ago - I think you handled the situation quite well."

Rayzor raised an eyebrow, feeling somewhat non-plussed. "I'd thank you," he said as he accompanied Redrin from the room, "…but…I'm not sure if that is praise I truly deserve."

Redrin smiled and shook his head. "Well, I thought you should know at least _someone_ on the Council thought you acted well. To tell the truth, I think most of them do - even if they won't come straight out and say it to your face like I just did."

Rayzor sighed, rubbing a hand between his eyes. "I'm afraid this entire Council member business is quite…exhausting."

Redrin shrugged. "Well…it certainly keeps one busy - but I'm glad you're one of the Council now, Rayzor."

They parted at an intersection of corridors, and they exchanged a nod of farewell.

As Rayzor turned back to head back towards the infirmary tunnels, he heard his comms unit beep, and he activated the button.

"Uncle! Are you coming back soon?"

"Beyris - yes - I'm on my way - "

"Good - I miss you - and Pidge says we should go flying sometime - "

Then there was a chorus of giggles from the comms unit - Beyris was laughing as one of the Paladins - it sounded like Pidge - said something about how it was high time for flying lessons and how Rayzor should totally come with them sometime and see how the Green Lion took to her new crystal.

Amid the noise, Rayzor felt himself smile. It was somehow getting easier to do.

Maybe it was kind of thing that came with practice.


	9. Making a Plan

While Rayzor had been in the Council meeting, Shiro had finally woken up from his healing cycle, and he had immediately been enveloped in a team hug that had lasted for well over a minute.

"Okay..." he said, looking down at them all. His tone was good-naturedly resigned. "What happened?"

Once the other Paladins had assured themselves of his good health, they had reluctantly let Coran and Allura take Shiro aside for some 'rest' and 'information sharing'.

"It's really code for 'Don't Mob Space Dad'," Pidge grumbled to herself as she and Hunk went back to their latest technological project. Lance pattered off to go see if Beyris had woken up from her nap yet, and Allura and Coran were finally able to tell Shiro everything that had happened, and that Jenick's sentence was being decided.

Once they had finished, Shiro looked across at the healing pod where Keith was, and his face was hard and set.

"Jenick did that to him?"

"Yes," Coran said. The Royal Advisor shifted in his char, and Allura held onto Shiro's hand, and she felt Shiro's fingers tighten in her own. Not enough to hurt, but enough where she could tell he was angry, and fighting to control it.

Then Aurelis came into the room and told them that the Council had reached a decision, and he explained the terms.

"Combat, huh?" Shiro said, a hard smile coming into his eyes, and Aurelis nodded at him. "Technically," he said, "The pala - ahem - I mean, Keith is supposed to pick someone to fight on his behalf."

Allura bit her lip in thought, and Shiro saw and asked her what she was thinking. Allura looked at him and said, her tone both thoughtful and slightly hesitant, "…well…it's not that I don't want Keith to pick who will fight for him, but - "

Shiro smiled at her. "Let me guess - you think it's best for Keith to wake up to find this all settled, right?" he said. "I agree. And honestly, I think if Keith were given the choice, he'd fight Jenick himself. But - Aurelis - you said the Council won't permit that?"

Aurelis waved a clawed hand from side to side in a 'sort-of' gesture.

"Well, it seems that the injured parties directly involved with the criminal tend to pick a - a third party to fight in their place. I think it's to spare the injured party more pain…?"

The healer sighed. "I don't completely understand the reasoning, but the short answer to your question is yes - neither Rayzor nor Keith can face Jenick in the combat, but - but someone they choose to fight in their stead can."

Shiro's mouth curled into a half-smile. It was a small, but genuine expression, and his eyes were almost darkly amused. "You mean like a champion?"

Both Allura and Coran looked at him then, but it was clear Shiro had used the word intentionally. The word 'champion' didn't have the same effect it once did on him.

Maybe Black's final break with Zarkon had something to do with it. In a way, she and Shiro had both broken the witch's power over them.

Shiro looked back at Keith, then, and then at the Alteans, and he nodded, once. His eyes were hard, but his voice was steady when he spoke.

"I'll do it," he said. "I want to send a clear message. No one hurts Keith. _No one._ "

Allura smiled at him, proud and glad and almost feeling a bit wistful.

It was almost too bad that this match had to be one on one. Allura would have happily joined forces with Shiro.

She told him as much, and Shiro chuckled then, and she smiled back at him.

"I'll take this one," he said. "But you can be my second, if you like."

"A - time - slice?" she asked, confused, and Shiro laughed then, but it wasn't an unkind laugh, just a genuine laugh at how things could get lost in translation.

"Hah! - ahem - no, um, see, a 'second' can mean someone who you trust to back you up, if you need it - "

Allura blushed in pleasure, but she was curious now. Coran saw it in the way she leaned forward in her chair, in the way her eyes sparked with inquisitiveness.

"Is that 'second' spelled differently then - then your 'time slice' second?"

Shiro thought for a moment, and he scratched the side of his head thoughtfully. "Huh. That's weird - I think they _are_ spelled the same way-"

"I heard someone say SPELLED!" Lance said, bounding into the room, Beyris on his shoulders. "And spelled has 'spell' in it - and you know what that means, doncha, Beyris?!"

The five year old flung her arms out wide in triumph as she hollered at the top of her voice, 'EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

Allura laughed as Lance whirred around the room like an airplane, pretending to fire bolts of magic from his fingertips as Beyris cheered him on.

"WHOO!" she shouted happily, "Come on, Lance - make the ice flowers!"

"The ice - what now?" Shiro asked, and Lance grinned at him. The Blue Paladin seemed really excited about something. His eyes were bright and happiness was almost sparking off of him.

"Well - I didn't really mean to - but when Beyris and I were playing - I found out that I can do - this!"

Lance pointed a finger at a nearby table and narrowed his eyes, biting his lip in concentration. Suddenly a spark of blue fire flickered out from his index finger, and a five-petaled ice flower appeared in the center of the table.

Shiro just stared at it for a second, his mouth dropping fully open, his grey eyes wide in shocked surprise, and Allura clapped both of her hands to her mouth in astonishment. Coran leapt to his feet and bounded up to the sparkling ice crystal, his eyes huge in amazement.

"Yeah…" Lance said, grinning at them all, Beyris still laughing in delight up on his shoulders. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"AMAZING!" Coran shouted, turning and grabbing Lance by the shoulders. "LANCE! YOU ARE A MARVEL!"

Beyris clambered off Lance's back and ran to the flower, cupping it in both of her hands, smiling at it.

"So pretty!" she said, running over and showing it to Shiro, who blinked in some confusion, but leaned forward to look at it all the same.

"Oh - uh - yeah - it is really pretty - um - " he said, and Allura realized he didn't really know Beyris yet.

"Oh, Shiro, this is Beyris - she's Rayzor's niece, the one I was telling you about earlier," Allura explained, and Beyris nodded emphatically, smiling up at Shiro.

"Hi, Beyris," Shiro said, smiling down at her. "It's nice to meet you."

Beyris grinned back at him, then looked between him and Allura, and said, her tone completely serious, "Allura's nice. You should kiss her."

Lance and Coran almost fell over laughing at that, because Shiro's face had gone from his normal color to bright cherry red in just under a second, and even Aurelis couldn't hold back a smile as Beyris grinned up at the Black Paladin.

"What?" she asked innocently. "You _should_. I can tell you like her-"

Shiro coughed, clearly unsure whether to laugh or to look down at the floor, and Beyris continued, her red eyes sparkling with glee and good humor. "You were holding her hand, and you totally think she's gorgeous - Lance - what's so funny?" she asked, seeing the Blue Paladin sink onto a nearby chair, holding his face in his hands and shaking with laughter.

"-haha-nothing-hahaha-oh, oh, _man_ , Shiro, you should see your face right now -"

" _Lance_ …" Shiro said, but he was laughing as he said it, and so was Allura, and then Rayzor walked in and Beyris squealed in delight and threw herself at his knees, and once Rayzor had picked her up, he looked around the room and seemed somewhat confused.

"Did I…miss something?" he asked, and when Lance burst out laughing again, Beyris told her uncle that all she'd done was to point out that Allura was nice and that She-row should kiss her, and Rayzor's look of semi-embarrassed hilarity at that statement made Lance roar with laughter so loudly, it brought Pidge and Hunk out of their latest techno-project and come clambering into the room to see what all the noise was about.

Coran smiled at the sight, and he felt very, very glad that they could laugh again.


	10. Epilogue (Don't Mess with Space Dad)

The fight with Jenick didn't take long.

It was over in less than ten minutes.

Each combatant was given a sword, but Shiro knocked Jenick's weapon from his grip half-way through the fight.

Jenick scrabbled in the dust for his weapon, but Shiro kicked it away, reached out with his cybernetic arm, and grasped Jenick by the front of his shirt, lifting Jenick to his feet with very little effort.

Jenick tried to get free, but Shiro told him, in a very flat, calm voice, to stop moving.

Jenick froze then, staring into Shiro's eyes in absolute terror.

The Black Paladin's eyes were hard, and his voice was quiet.

"If I chose to," Shiro said, "I could crush your throat and leave you here to die. _Or_ , I could throw you against the wall, and let you live with a broken spine."

Jenick tried to get free then, but Shiro shook him, just once, and Jenick froze again, his breaths coming faster and faster in rising panic.

" _Listen_ , _Jenick,_ " Shiro said. "I want you. to listen. to. me."

Jenick nodded, almost frantically, and Shiro continued speaking in that same flat, even tone.

"I could kill you in any number of ways. Hell, it's taking every ounce of self-control I have _not_ to snap your neck or crush your skull, right here, right now."

Shiro drew in a breath then, and his fingers tightened on the front of Jenick's shirt as he let the breath out again, and he shook Jenick again, just once, but hard enough to make Jenick's teeth rattle in his head.

"But - despite _all_ that - I'm going to let you live. Do you know _why_ I'm going to let you live, _Jenick_?"

Jenick shook his head.

"I am going to let you live because I _refuse_ to be like you. I _refuse_ to let my rage control me. And _that_ \- that and that _alone_ \- is why I'll even consider allowing you to leave this room breathing."

Shiro's eyes were still flat and hard, and he brought Jenick closer, so they were nose to nose. "Do I make myself clear, _Jenick_?"

Jenick nodded, still speechless with fear, and Shiro growled at him then. His voice was hard, almost guttural, and it was terrifying to hear up close.

" _I want to hear you say it_."

"I - I understand - " Jenick babbled.

Just as Shiro released him, Jenick unsheathed the knife he'd hidden up his sleeve and slashed out at the Black Paladin's throat.

Shiro had been prepared for a sneak attack. The knife caught on the cybernetic palm as Shiro grabbed hold of the blade and tossed it away, and then Shiro had grabbed hold of Jenick's throat with his cybernetic hand and lifted the Proselyt completely off the ground.

Even as Jenick screamed in enraged frustration, Shiro looked at him and bared his teeth.

" _Fine_ ," he said, and Jenick braced himself for death, because Jenick wanted to die, he wanted to _prove_ that the Red Paladin's champion was just as bloodthirsty as the Galra themselves.

But Shiro didn't kill him.

Shiro struck him with his left hand, his human hand. He struck Jenick in the face, once, twice. The blows were hard, and hurt just enough to make Jenick's ears ring.

More to the point, it was humiliating, which for Jenick was worse than death.

"Have you got any other tricks up your sleeve, _Jenick_?" Shiro snarled, and Jenick heard barely contained rage bleed through Shiro's voice then.

For Jenick - who had hoped to show the Council that the witch's Champion was at least as bloodthirsty as she was - to be defeated without bloodshed was a defeat worse than death. So he tried a final, desperate measure, just to try and prove that when it came down to it, the witch's Champion was someone to be feared rather than admired or trusted.

"You - you should have heard your friend scream," Jenick said, trying to laugh in Champion's face. "He was _crying_ from the pain by the time I finished with h-"

Shiro felt his vision blur for an instant, rage and anger and blinding fury boiling inside his chest. He slammed Jenick straight down into the ground then, with a force so final, he heard the breath leave the bastard's lungs, and a few bones definitely snapped as well.

 _Control_. Shiro told himself. He had to _control_ this rage, harness it, use it instead of allowing it to use him.

So, despite the rage, despite the anger at the thought of how badly this bastard had hurt his friend, Shiro did not activate the weapons setting in his arm. Instead, he brought Jenick back up to face him, his own dark grey eyes mere millimeters from the red ones that were now filmy and hazy with pain.

" _ **Jenick**_ _._ " Shiro said, and Jenick's eyes focused on his face, and if it were possible for a blue-skinned alien to go pale, Jenick did.

The Black Paladin's eyes had gone completely, utterly flat, his face almost eerily still. When he spoke again, his voice sounded like a lion's snarl, harsh and sharp and grating.

"Last warning. Shut up - and walk away. **Now**."

Then Shiro released his grip, and Jenick tumbled to the ground, angry and furious and humiliated. As he got back to his feet, he saw that the Black Paladin had turned deliberately away from him and was walking towards the edge of the room, where the others waited for him.

Suddenly, Jenick knew how he could make the Black Paladin's control snap.

Jenick grabbed the knife from where it had fallen and lunged wildly towards the nearest person he could see - the Blue Paladin, the one who had fought him in the tunnels, the one who had befriended Beyris.

He threw it, knowing it had to hit its mark, it had to - but - the knife passed straight through its target and clattered against a far wall, even as Jenick watched the form blur and flicker.

It was a hologram.

They'd tricked him. The Blue Paladin wasn't there.

There was a sudden blur of movement, a snarl of rage, and then an impact to Jenick's chest.

Without meaning to, Jenick suddenly stumbled back a few steps, and then found himself on his knees, coughing and feeling suddenly, strangely dizzy.

He looked up to see Shiro standing directly front of him. The Black Paladin was looking down at him, and his eyes were _fire_ when he spoke, his voice harsh and sharp as steel.

"I tried to warn you-"

Jenick looked down to see that a sword was sticking out of his chest, and he almost smiled at the realization that he'd proven that the witch's Champion had wanted blood all along, that in the end -

"-but you didn't listen," Shiro said, his voice still hard and cold. "I'm - sorry it had to end this way."

"You're - not - s-sorry -" Jenick coughed, hoping to hit a nerve. "You're a - a - "

Shiro raised an eyebrow, waiting for Jenick to continue.

 _I'm what, Jenick? Better hurry - you're running out of time._

"-monster-"

That was the last thing Jenick ever said.

Shiro reached down and felt for a pulse in the man's neck. There was nothing there. He was gone.

"No, Jenick," Shiro said, even though he knew Jenick was far beyond hearing him now. "I'm not the monster."

Then Shiro turned away from the man he'd killed and walked back towards where Coran, Allura, and the Council waited for him. Allura's hands were clasped tightly in front of her, but she did not look scared.

Shiro was glad of that. He wasn't sure what he would have done if she'd looked at him in fear or repulsion.

"I'm sorry," Coran said, as Shiro drew near. "I'm - I'm so sorry, Shiro-"

"It's - okay, Coran," Shiro said. "I'm just - I'm just glad the others weren't here to see it."

Rayzor reached out and flicked off the projection that Pidge had set up before the duel took place. As the lifeless holograms of the Green, Blue, and Yellow Paladins of Voltron flickered out of sight, Shiro turned to face the Council.

It had been agreed that only the Council members and the Alteans should witness the duel. The projections of the others had been Rayzor's idea - a way for the Council to observe what Jenick did when he grew desperate, to see if he would truly do anything within his power to harm the Paladins.

Coran and Allura - and even Rayzor, begrudgingly - agreed that life was not something to take away lightly, even when it became neccessary.

Shiro hadn't wanted to kill Jenick. But in the end, it was clear he'd have to, if he was going to keep Jenick from attacking his team again.

So he had.

They all left the dueling chamber then, and Rayzor went down one tunnel, with the Council members, saying that he would join them and the other Paladins shortly.

As Coran, Allura, and Shiro headed back towards the infirmary where the others waited for them, Coran saw the Princess reach out behind her, her hand outstretched towards Shiro. Shiro reached out for her hand automatically, but he seemed to hesitate at the last instant. Allura looked back at him, saw his hesitation, smiled reassuringly at him, and gently took his hand in hers.

Coran saw how Allura and Shiro exchanged looks then, and Coran was very glad that the Princess seemed to understand how Shiro felt, and that she was not afraid of what she'd seen.

Coran and Allura both knew that Shiro hadn't wanted to kill anyone like that - ever again.

But there was a time for regret, and there was a time for action, and it was part of a leader's responsibilities to take action when it was needed.

And Coran knew that there was no better leader than Takashi Shirogane.


	11. Bonus Scene: Afterlife

Jenick was confused.

He was dead, right? So why was he standing in a white space with nothing in sight?

A voice sounded from behind him, but it was not a voice he recognized.

"Hey there, _jackass_."

Jenick turned around to see someone standing a few feet behind him. The man was a Proselyt, and he had his arms crossed over his chest. He seemed…smug…and he was smiling at Jenick.

It was not a smile of welcome - more one of anticipation. Jenick swallowed.

"And…you are…?"

The man's smile did not reach his eyes.

"You tried to hurt my daughter."

"….I…what?"

The man's smile widened again, and his teeth were very, very sharp.

"My daughter. Beyris. Sweet kid, about five years old. Spunky. Funny. Going to be an _incredible_ leader of the guards one day."

Jenick swallowed, feeling his stomach plummet.

"Oh…"

The man's smile vanished from his face then, and his eyes went hard.

" _Jenick_. Did you really think you could just enter the afterlife without - "

Jenick turned away, intending to try and run from the man, but suddenly there were two other people near him - a man and a woman. The man was tall, with scruffy dark hair, and the woman was short, only coming up to the man's shoulders.

But they looked…familiar, somehow.

From behind him, Jenick heard Beyris' father chuckle. It was not a sound Jenick liked.

"Yeah…there's no way this ends well for you, _Jenick_."

Jenick glanced between the three people surrounding him, and he realized - with no small amount of terror - that - that -

The Proselyt standing by the man and woman pointed to himself.

"I'm Arris, by the way - and I'm just _one_ of the people who are about to make you regret - well, pretty much every decision you made during the last few days in the world of the living."

Jenick swallowed again as Arris pointed over at the man and woman and said, quite casually, "Oh, right, you haven't really met them yet." Arris smiled again, and he seemed almost gleeful as he said, "…can you guess who _they_ are?"

The woman's eyes were hard, and although she was shorter than anyone else, the force of her displeasure radiated from her like a wave. "I'm Mae."

The man standing by her cracked his knuckles, and his grin was a thing of sharp, sharp teeth as he growled, "Mae calls me Kenneth."

Mae blinked and looked up at him. "Sweetie, you told me you liked that name."

The man looked down at her, and his eyes were pleased, almost teasing. "I _do_ , honey, I do. I'm just not about to tell this jackass my _real_ name."

Mae smiled up at him, nodding. "Oh. That's fine, then."

The two of them turned back towards Jenick, and their expressions went hard and - somehow - they suddenly looked familiar.

 _Oh, quiznak._

Arris laughed then, and it was almost a merry sound.

"I can tell you finally figured it out. These are Keith's parents. And believe me, they are _pissed_. I really, _really_ don't envy you, _Jenick_."

"Stop saying my name like that!"

"Oh, try and stop me, _jackass_."

Kenneth looked over at Arris, and he was still grinning. His fingers had begun to sharpen into claws, and suddenly he looked completely Galra. His skin had turned purple, and his eyes were gleaming a deep, deep shade of yellow. "I _like_ you, Arris," he said.

Arris returned the grin while Jenick swallowed in fear and wished - uselessly - that karma had not caught up to him quite so fast.

Mae saw that her husband had shapeshifted back into his natural form and sighed, but she was smiling as she said to her husband, "Sweetie, I told you, you don't need to look human anymore. You don't need to shape shift at all unless you want to."

Kenneth glanced back down at her, and he was still grinning. "Hard habit to break, my love."

Mae smiled back at him. "Oh, I know." She batted her eyelashes at him in a lighthearted manner. "But I think you look _quite_ handsome either way." Kenneth grinned down at her then, and it was somehow a very happy expression.

Arris sighed, rolling his eyes, unable to keep genuine amusement from his voice. "Guys, _guys_ , come _on_ \- flirt _later_ \- we still have to kick this little bastard's ass sometime today."

Jenick swallowed as the Red Paladin's parents turned to face him again, their expressions hardening into something quite frightening.

"What - what _is_ this?" he stammered. "What - what is this place? Why are _you_ here?"

Arris shrugged, coming to stand beside Keith's father. "Well, you see, _Jenick_ \- sometimes the afterlife is a strange, _strange_ place."

Mae smiled then, cracking her knuckles and her neck. Her eyes were glinting, and she was shifting her weight, clearly deciding upon a method of attack. "Usually, this sort of thing doesn't happen - quite this way. But - well - we simply _insisted_."

She glanced back up at Keith's father, and her voice took on a light tone. "Remember, honey, we agreed. Equal ass-kicking rights."

Her husband nodded, his eyes now trained on Jenick strategically, looking for the best way to strike. "Yes, _dear_ ," he said, his voice still completely teasing, and Mae couldn't hold back a chuckle.

"I _love_ being married to you," she said. "I _really_ do."

Arris made a retching noise in the back of his throat, and Mae turned to glare at him. Beyris' father threw his arms open, as if to say 'What?!' even as he took a step back from her. For such a little woman, she was quite intimidating when she chose to be.

"Do you _always_ talk like this?" Arris asked. " _Stars_ , it's like you two never stopped being on your honeymoon-"

"Technically," Kenneth said, "there _is_ no Galra word for honeymoon-"

Mae sighed, her eyes going distant for a moment. "Let me tell you, Arris, that was an _interesting_ wedding to plan -"

Kenneth looked at her from the corner of his eye and grinned then, and he was almost laughing when he said, "Well, at least you didn't have to meet my side of the family - _stars_ \- that would have been awkward - especially given that they tried to kill me just before I met you -"

Mae slapped her palm against her husband's arm, and he broke off, laughing as she said, "I've _told_ you, family is more than blood - oh, it must be _hundreds_ of times now -"

Arris groaned in mock horror and clapped his hands to his head. "No - no - no - _stop it_ \- no more telling me about your love story, I can't _stand_ it, can we just - get back to pounding Jenick? _Please_?!"

Jenick looked frantically around, hoping to see a door, or a gate, or something that might represent a way out of facing the afterlife consequences of his choices.

There was none.

And karma did catch up to him.

Later - after their work was finished - Arris, Mae, and Kenneth returned to where King Alfor was waiting for them.

"So," he said, uncrossing his arms and coming to greet them. "How did it go?"

Kenneth had unconsciously retracted his claws, but his eyes still gleamed yellow in satisfaction.

" _Quite_ well," he said, and Mae nodded in agreement. She was holding onto Kenneth's arm as if they were walking down the street. Arris just grinned a wide grin at the King of Altea.

"I think everything's just about settled on that score," he said. "Mind you, it was nice to do something different for a change."

King Alfor looked off into the distance then, as if he was looking at something none of the others could see.

"I wish they knew," he said. "I wish they knew they - they're never alone. Not really."

Mae and Kenneth looked at each other, and they seemed to grow sad for a moment. Arris sighed. "I know how you feel," he said. "But - sometimes - I think they do."

The other three looked at him then, their faces both hopeful and somehow heartbreakingly wistful.

"How?" Mae asked. The question was all she could manage to say out loud.

"Sometimes - I think - I think they can feel us nearby," Arris said. "I don't know how else to describe it. But it's - it's good to know that - we - " he broke off, clearly unable to finish.

King Alfor put a hand on his shoulder, and Arris was glad the king said what was on all of their minds. "We're just - not - together yet."

Mae quickly wiped the heel of her hand across her face, and her husband nodded, once, firmly.

"Not yet," Mae managed. "Not yet - but - someday."

Arris saw that they all seemed very sad, and his natural instincts kicked in.

"Well, I certainly hope it isn't _too_ soon," he said. "How else am I going to have bragging rights about how amazing my daughter is?"

King Alfor's eyebrows shot up, and he was smiling. "On the subject of daughters…Arris…how to tell you this…my daughter Allura is - "

Arris grinned, pointing at Alfor, and said, "Ooooooh, no, _no you don't_ \- don't you say it - it'll mean _war_ \- "

"- the best daughter anyone could ask for," Alfor finished, and even Mae was smiling as Arris clutched at his chest in a pretend heart attack.

"Shots _fired_!" he exclaimed. "Okay, let's take a tally - "

As he and Alfor began speaking about their daughters, Kenneth leaned over and whispered to Mae, "See, now we need to go find someone so we can brag about _our_ kid."

Mae started listing Keith's accomplishments on her fingers, and her husband threw back his head and laughed when she reached up for both of his hands and started using his fingers to keep counting.

"Well, I only have ten," she said, and then she continued to list Keith's many stellar accomplishment and sparkling personality traits. At the mention of the word 'social', she saw her husband blink in surprised confusion and look down at her.

"Honey - I think - maybe - you're - uh - "

"What? He _is_ social!"

"Are we still talking about our son Keith?"

"Oh, you're _exaggerating_ \- "

"Me?! You said he's _social_! Mae, sweetheart, he is _many_ things, but - social?"

"He is wonderful in conversations!"

"-when he joins them -"

"-he does - occasionally - he's - "

"- _honey_ -"

Arris saw that Keith's parents weren't really disagreeing, and that they were actually having a very good time. He grinned to himself.

The afterlife was - a very strange place sometimes.

But at least it was always interesting.


	12. Bonus Scene: How Kenneth and Mae met

_Author's Note: Kenneth and Mae were so much fun to write in 'Afterlife', I thought they deserved their own little chapter in this series. So...here you are - this is how Keith's parents met._

 _Also - Keith's full Galra heritage is revealed here. I've been wanting to write this moment for ages. :D_

She'd been out stargazing, the night they met.

It really wasn't lonely, though of course no one else at the Garrison believed her when she told them that.

She'd brought out her charts and maps, but she'd left them in her car. Sometimes, she just liked to sit outside, deep in the desert darkness, and gaze up at all the lights in the sky, up at all the hundreds and millions of lights, and imagine what other people might exist out there.

Did they have families? What were their cultures like? Did they ever look out at the stars and see a blue planet, and wonder what kind of person might be looking back?

The others at the Garrison all called her strange. Sweet, quiet, kind, and smart - but strange. In a way…they turned out to be right.

Mae _was_ strange. She married a man from the stars.

His ship had crashed into the desert sands the night they'd met. At first, she thought the shimmer and sparkle of the shuttle had been a shooting star, one amongst the hundreds that fell that night. But then one fell to the ground, nearby, where she could see it, and it glowed and burned like no star could.

She had run straight towards it, as fast as she possibly could, completely disregarding any known protocol or procedure, because she knew it had to be a dream, that stars didn't just fall from the sky, that ships weren't capable of inter-spacial travel yet - they were still _years_ away from even _testing_ something that could go through an atmosphere and not be completely obliterated -

Fire flickered over something that glimmered in shades of blue and grey and black - all the shades condensing into something that could only be a ship as she came nearer to it.

 _No_ , she told herself. _I'm crazy. This can't be happening._

Then someone had - had broken through a section of the ship, tumbled down the front of it, over the hull, to the ground, and then he staggered to his feet.

It was a tall person, almost a full head and shoulders above her, and she froze in startled astonishment as he looked at her. His skin was dark, as dark as the night sands about the ship, and his eyes glowed yellow.

The sound and crackle of the fire behind him restored Mae's sense of urgency. He wasn't really moving away from the danger. Maybe he'd been injured in the fall, hit his head, but whatever the cause, he was certainly confused and disoriented.

"Come on!" she said, coming forward, grabbing hold of one of his arms, trying to pull him after her. "We've got to get you away from here - it can't be safe - "

She was a tiny woman - always had been small, even as a child - but the person followed her. He seemed to be limping, and she was just able to pull him behind an outcropping of rock before the ship burst entirely into flame, fragments of metal and wires flying out in a series of small explosions.

"Holy _shit_!" Mae exclaimed, once the sounds of the explosion had died away. "It just - what - how - oh, _God_! You're _bleeding_!"

The figure looked down at his torso. Dark purple blood was dripping down onto the sand.

"Huh…" he said, seeming strangely calm at the realization that he was injured.

Mae just assumed it was a 'he'. It was something about the voice. "Guess she did get me, then."

"Wait - someone _shot_ you?!" Even as she spoke, Mae was taking off her jacket, folding it up, using it as a temporary bandage, pressing it down, against the injury.

The figure shifted its weight, trying to lean against the rock outcropping more comfortably.

"My mother. Long story."

"Some _mother,"_ Mae said under her breath. "So - wow - um - obviously you just crashed in a space ship -"

"…yes…"

"How can you speak our language?"

The man pointed to his neck. "Universal translator. I'm just glad it's working - wasn't sure it would, after the crash - "

He saw the small woman's eyes go wide in fascination and sudden, intense interest. She peered up into his face, and even though he was pretty sure he had some sort of head injury, he still thought it was nice to see something other than fear or hate in her eyes as she looked at him - especially given what he was.

" _Amazing_! You - you have a device that - that allows you to understand and speak any language?!"

If she hadn't been holding her jacket on his side, he had a feeling she would have peered at his neck in complete awe, trying to figure out how it worked and why.

As the woman spoke, he realized she was taking all of this remarkably well. He didn't know the name for her race yet, but he thought he was going to like them.

"WOW!" she said, still staring at his neck. "That's - that's amazing!"

He couldn't hold back a smile. "Well - it is pretty useful-"

He broke off, hissing in discomfort, and Mae felt something stutter in her chest. Concern, obviously. But also a disquieting sense of - uncertainty.

"Um…" she said. "Not to sound - rude, or anything - but - um - how _did_ you come to crash on our planet?"

The man looked at her then, and she caught her breath. His eyes were still a deep, deep yellow color, and she suddenly realized he had fangs and - and was that purple skin?

Mother of pearl, yes it was. He had purple skin. And fangs. And yellow eyes. What _was_ he?

"You _really_ want to know?"

She snorted. He thought it was a loud sound, considering how small she was. "Wouldn't have asked otherwise…sorry, what _is_ your name?"

"It's hard to say."

"What, you don't remember?" She peered up at his head then, seeming concerned. "Oh - _shit_ \- if you have a head injury - "

He couldn't hold back a laugh. Stars, she was funny. That, and he was probably concussed.

"No - _no_ \- it's hard to _say_. I don't know if you could manage it -"

Despite the strangeness of the situation, Mae laughed too. "Oh - well - okay then. How about I give you a name?"

She saw his eyebrows rise in confusion."What, like a pet?"

She beamed back at him cheerfully.

"So you _do_ have pets! How nice - we're already finding similarities between our races - "

"Um…actually..."

"-but no, not like a pet, you're obviously a person, so - more like - something I can call you. Other than 'Stranger' - which is just too western."

He blinked, confused again. "I - 'western'? You'd call me after a direction?"

She shook her head from side to side. "It's an Earth thing - don't worry about it - but really, I have a good name for you, if you'd like."

The man sighed and shrugged. "Sure, why not."

"Okay - how about - Kenneth?"

He seemed okay with it. He nodded his head and seemed curious. "What does it mean?"

"I don't know if it really means anything - I just - you know - you crashed into the desert and I just saw a movie like that and I just thought of this name a few seconds ago and - ooooohkay, you're still bleeding - right - how about I get something to help - with that?"

She got to her feet, reached down for one of his hands, and lifted it to the jacket. "Keep - pressure here - and I'll just - " As he gripped hold of the fabric, she saw he had claws. Really, really sharp claws.

"Oh my," she said. "I think - um - maybe - I think I have something in the car we can use - let's not take you into a hospital just yet. That might - you know - cause panic. Wouldn't be helpful."

The man nodded, looking at her, and kept his words short. The pain was starting to get to him. "…sure - Kenneth is - fine - um - "

"Mae. I'm Mae. Nice to meet you, Kenneth."

"Likewise."

He looked back over his shoulder at the remains of his ship and sighed, almost resignedly. "Well, looks like I'll be staying here for a while," he said.

Mae was already racing back towards her car. "Just a second!" she called back over her shoulder. "I'll be right back!"

Kenneth looked after her and wondered what a 'second' was. Hopefully something like a time slice…

She was back quickly, and she managed to stop the bleeding. Then she said something about getting her car closer over here so she could take him somewhere he could rest. Then she was off again, and he remembered that Thrace probably thought he was dead.

Quiznak. He couldn't let his friend think that.

Kenneth had managed to keep his comms unit when he crashed, and he hoped it was still working. It flickered and buzzed, but it was still - barely - functional. He fumbled it out of the pack at his side, and managed to tell Thrace that he'd made it out of the ambush, but he'd crashed somewhere and been injured.

"How badly?!"

"Well, there's blood…and I'm feeling dizzy. That's pretty much all I know right now."

Thrace cursed. "I'll track your ship - I'll come get you -"

"Ship's - destroyed. Not sure - you can track me."

Thrace swore. "Are there natives? Are they hostile?"

Kenneth felt his mind wander. "No, she's Mae."

" _Quiznak_ ….are you concussed?"

"Most likely - but she _is_ nice."

"Stars, you had better not die on me -"

"Oh, come _on_ , Thrace, like I'd die from some head injury - that's just _insulting_ \- you've met my mother, remember - "

Then Kenneth heard Mae calling to him. "I'm coming! Just a second!"

"Look, Thrace - I don't know if this comms unit will work much longer. Just - I'll try to contact you, okay? Whatever you do - don't blow your cover."

"I'm not about to, am I?! Not after you took the heat for that!"

"You'd - better not - "

"Listen - I will be _fine_. You focus on living. All right?"

"…right…"

Kenneth heard the comms unit sputter and crackle into silence as Mae reappeared. He held up the dead comms unit towards her, feeling dizzy and suddenly, very tired.

"Sorry…" he said. "My friend was worried. Had to let him know I - met you, you know?"

"Oh - dear," Mae said. "Oooooooh, dear. Listen, we have to get you out of the cold. Like, right now. Come on, the car's not far."

Well, at least this night wasn't a complete disaster, Kenneth thought to himself as she helped him get to his feet and stumble toward a vehicle of some kind.

True, Kenneth had barely managed to escape with his life once Haggar realized he'd delayed her precious quintessence-draining experiment by at least fifteen years.

He'd destroyed as much of her instruments as he could before she had realized her own son had betrayed her, and then he'd decided to just run. Run, and live, and infuriate Haggar with the knowledge that no matter what she said, no matter what she did, that he would _never_ be the same as her.

A shot of lightening to the side was worth it, if it held off her rampage of death and destruction just a little while longer.

In the end, Thrace's cover had not been compromised, and so the rebellion still had an agent in place at the heart of Zarkon's empire.

Small victories, Kenneth told himself.

They could lead to winning the war, if there were enough of them.


End file.
